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The Cold Warby Eva Pasco, author of the book "Underlying Notes"
 Hard pressed to find a Sixties housewife/stay-at-home mom exemplified by June
Cleaver, coiffed and ready to tackle housework in a shirt waist dress, heels, and beads-- I’m not the
least bit surprised. Running a household in the Sixties entailed more than waltzing Hoover in a
dress—interpret that as you will—or swishing a dust cloth. Take into consideration the appliances which
passed muster as modern conveniences for that era. Let’s turn
the dial to zero and get ready to fight The Cold War on the home front. We’re about to defrost the
fridge!
Before my family
owned a self-defrost fridge, my mother initiated “global warming” inside the freezer compartment of our non
self-defrosting model. Before reusable, resealable plastic Ziploc
storage bags were developed for consumers in 1968, you could store meat in the freezer the way it came packaged
from the market. You could also parcel it out and repackage it in
plastic wrap, and further insulate by shrouding in aluminum wrap.
Meanwhile frost had the potential to build up inside the freezer until the walls closed in as the ice continent
of Antarctica. My mother never let the threat of “burial” escalate too far in The Cold War, having developed an
offensive strategy which essentially amounted to a pre-emptive strike to break the ice.
1. Every two
weeks, she initiated “defrosting” by turning the freezer dial to zero. She emptied the freezer and placed its contents on the kitchen counters.
2. Strategically
placing a pan of hot water in the freezer speeded up the process of melting the frost. I’m told this took about an hour so none of the meat on the counter had a
chance to thaw. I remember the perk of her doling out popsicles to
my sister and me along with any of our friends who happened to be in the yard during The Cold War front.
3. Soon, the catch
basin beneath the freezer filled with water during this transformation from solid to liquid. My mother gingerly lifted this cumbersome rectangular tub and slowly walked
it to the sink to pour the dregs down the drain.
4. During the process of fighting The Cold War, my mother wiped down the interiors of the fridge and freezer before replacing the frozen booty. My mother not only won this Cold War but knew how to defrost other situations before they escalated. As in life, it’s best to anticipate and be prepared by assuming an offensive stance. My mother taught by example so my sister and I followed her lead, her beads of wisdom frozen in time.
Order Eva's Book "Underlying Notes"
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Vietnam -1968
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